Bearing assemblies are widely used in various mechanical applications, including the automotive field. One type of rolling bearing is a spherical rolling bearing. Spherical rolling bearings are suitable for handling smaller axial and radial loads and are primarily used to reduce frictional loss. Spherical rolling bearings are not suitable for carrying larger loads due to the small contact area between the spherical rolling elements and the rings that support the load.
Another type of bearing uses tapered rollers. Tapered roller bearings are suitable for carrying large axial or radial loads but experience higher frictional losses than other types of bearings. Multiple row bearing assemblies using a number of rows of either spherical rolling elements or tapered rollers are well known for increasing the life and load carrying capacity of bearings. Known multiple row bearing assemblies include split inner and outer rings, which complicates the assembly of the bearing components.
It would be desirable to provide a bearing assembly that provides high axial and radial load bearing capabilities, while still providing for lower frictional losses.